5 Ways to Sell Your Products By Selling Yourself First

When a visitor lands on your website, there are two questions they need answered:

1. How does this product or service benefit me?

and…

2. Why should I buy this product or service from you?

If your site does a good job of answering the first question, congratulations – you’re one step closer to making a sale, but that alone won’t necessarily close the deal. To push the visitor to commit, giving you money in hand, you must be able to answer the second question sufficiently as well.

And, even when you’ve done that – you’re not out of the clear yet. Tons of businesses go wrong by focusing on just these two questions. They fill their pages with plenty of benefits, stats and other figures all intended to get the sale, but they leave visitors still asking, “Why you?”

All things being equal, answering the first question above may be enough to convince some visitors to do business with you. However, on the web, all things are rarely equal. To be successful online you have to do more than be just as good as the other guy. You have to be better than he is today… and better than he’ll be tomorrow. And, if your competitors are smart, they’ll be playing the same game. They are looking at you not as a measurement of where they should be, but as a measurement of what they should surpass.

How do you convince someone to buy from you?

Ask yourself, what makes you different from the dozens or possibly even hundreds of others out there doing the same thing? Can you make the case for yourself in a way that is appealing? If you sell the same products or services as dozens of others online, can you convince your visitors that you have or do something special that others aren’t?

The trick to selling yourself is to do it without sounding like you’re doing it. Everything you do to sell yourself has to focus on what your customers need, want and value. Now, let’s look at five ways to use content to sell yourself to your visitors.

#1: Unique Value Proposition

Great businesses are not necessarily those that do something unique, they’re those that do something in a unique way. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling car batteries, clothing, consulting services or flow meters; whatever you do, find an approach that is unique, and then make sure your unique value proposition (UVP) is expressed throughout your content.

In fact, the bulk of your content should revolve around your UVP. It’s not something you work into your content, it is your content. Your UVP should be so ingrained in your business DNA that you can’t help but talk about your products or services without filtering that information through the whole idea of what makes you unique and different from everybody else.

Selling products and services is pretty easy. For the most part you have to realize that people searching and landing on your site already know they need your product or service. So that leaves selling yourself. But remember, visitors don’t want to hear all about you, they want you to talk about what’s valuable to them.

Every bit of content on your site must be about them. Even when you’re selling yourself, you’re not doing that to make yourself look better; you’re doing it so they understand what they get out of the relationship. I can tell you that I’m a national speaker, but what people want to hear is that I speak to business leaders all over the country helping them grow their web presence and that I can do the same thing for them. You can tell people that you sell widgets, or you can tell them that you understand their problems and sell the solutions they need!

#2: Industry Authority

Are you an expert in your industry? Are you an authority that people look to for answers? You should be! Sure, you know what you’re talking about, but if no one else does then all that knowledge you have is going to waste. Start making your knowledge work for you, and your customers.

The easiest way to show your knowledge is through a blog. But that’s not the only way. Your knowledge should be littered throughout the content of your site, as you write product and service descriptions, values and specs. Don’t rely on boilerplate information from other sources; instead demonstrate to your visitors that you have personal experience with everything you sell. With services, you’re not just offering a solution; you have to show that you know the right way to implement that solution.

You should also be looking for some expert citations that show your authority. This might mean writing articles for other industry sites or even building a library of tools, tips, and tricks that other sites would want to source. Look for unique ways to demonstrate your knowledge so your visitors have no doubt that you are their go-to company!

#3: Site Security

Most people think of site security as an IT issue. While you have to have the IT component in place, it’s the content that has to do the job of informing your visitors what the IT crew has done, specifically making sure they understand the ins and outs of how you keep their information secure. While security and privacy policy pages are not the most interesting pages to read, and for that matter rarely are, they are still critical to the process of convincing shoppers that you’re the one to work with.

Read or not, the presence of information on how your customer’s private data is handled can be a huge factor in winning customers over. Look for opportunities to link to your security pages throughout your site (i.e., whenever someone is taking an action where this might be an issue) and write easy to read and scannable security pages.

Most visitors who see links to the security pages will be satisfied by that alone. Others may click to the page to scan or read. Make your security pages easy to read so visitors can also have internal security about becoming your customer.

#4: Customer Reviews & Testimonials

Product reviews are easy. And while those help sell the product, it’s customer reviews that sell you. Look for opportunities to have your customers provide feedback and testimonials about the value your company offers. This means giving your visitors something to brag about.

Nothing gets bragged about more than when you exceed customer expectations, and that all starts with good quality engagement. From the very first visit, the visitor must have an exceptional experience on your website. Great content, great visuals, great follow-up. When you take care of your customers beyond the norm, they’ll share it.

#5: Guarantees and Assurances

Not every business can provide iron-clad guarantees on products or services, but assurances can go a long, long way to making potential customers feel at ease when doing business with you. What you can do to provide these assurances? Find out and provide the information to your visitors.

Guarantees go beyond product and service performance. Sometimes it’s just a matter of customer service. Let visitors know you respond to all emails within 24 hours, or they will always get a live person on the phone on the first try. Or maybe if they have trouble using your product, you provide technical help to ensure they get the value of what they’ve ordered.

There are many ways to offer both assurances and guarantees that fall outside of what we typically think. Figure out what works for you and your business. Look for creative ways to delight your visitors and be sure to let them know how you do.

It’s Not All About You

Selling yourself and your product or service is a fundamental part of your business success – we know that. But you’ve got to know and practice selling yourself in a way that doesn’t scream, “it’s all about me!” Bring the value, the authenticity, and the know-how. Welcome your visitors to a website that addresses security and showcases an environment where customers are praising you for your quality. Don’t be afraid to make assurances. In short, what do you do that provides value to your audience? Find it and let your visitors know not how great you are, but how great what you offer will benefit them.

Stoney deGeyter is the author of The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!. He is the founder and CEO of Pole Position Marketing, a web presence optimization firm who's pit crew has been velocitizing websites since 1998. In his free time Stoney gets involved in community services and ministries with his bride enjoy and his children. Read Stoney's full bio.

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